To wonder who can afford this? What do you spend on your holidays?

[Bridgeofpies]

I was flicking through a travel magazine and having the usual envy of the people enjoying sun drenched beaches, bustling exotic markets and artistic sunsets etc. So I had a look through at all the places to stay.

Almost all the hotels and accommodation (or a large proportion) were from £400 per night for a double room! Some were up to £700. It got me wondering - who actually stays in these hotels? They look amazing and I can imagine doing it for a one- off special occasion like a big anniversary or birthday but are there people who spend this on their “normal” holidays?

We are definitely well-off by most standards but wouldn’t consider this for a holiday! (Especially with 2 kids, it would be insanely expensive). Our last big blow out holiday was around £3500 but that was 2 weeks, all-inclusive, with flights and for all 4 of us!

So, just got me wondering, is it just billionaires and business travellers on expenses who stay in these places?

This thread is a horrible insight into how the other half live. Feeling rather enraged

Who's the other half? It's not other people's fault they can afford holidays.

Disneyland Paris hotels charge £400 a night. If you pay a package comes out cheaper. I asked last year when I want a extra night.

I'm sitting here with my mouth open at some of these prices. Our income is about 12k plus tax credits/child benefit so we might be able to just about afford camping but we can't do that because of ds's sn so we don't go.

OMG! I am shocked rigid by how much people are spending on holidays though when I was working my colleagues also spent thousands. We sent our two children to prep school by living off beans and toast and our major family holiday was a ferry/drive week in a gite in France or a week in Devon.

Having said that, when the children passed the eleven plus we channelled the school fees money into a cottage in Devon before prices went through the roof and now, though it costs about five grand a year to service, we have any number of ‘free’ weeks, fortnights and long weekends there. The children use it too now for free breaks with friends.

I suppose that’s quite a lot of money now I think of it but the accommodation is five star and it only takes three hours to get there with no passport control or madding crowds.

This thread is a horrible insight into how the other half live

I know! Can’t believe people have to resort to Centre Parks

Family income not dissimilar to the OP we are now 2 adults and 2 uni students

Holidays each year tend to be 1 week skiing, a couples break (2 weeks) somewhere exotic for DH and I then a family holiday in the summer.
I would estimate that we spend around 20-25k

Before the DC left school it would be Ski week, a weekend break in Europe for DH and I, 2 or 3 weeks long haul in the summer, then a trip somewhere warm for October half term, often Florida. Cost around the same.

Teacher did you intend your post to be ironic?

Someone says it's an insight into how the other half live and you agree by saying "I know, we sent our children to prep school..."

@RaindropsAndSparkles as I stated, we go with my in laws every year. It was their family holiday as my DH grew up as his parents don't travel abroad. We have nephews and nieces within that group of in laws...

I stated DH and I are child free, (and the budget is only relevant to us) not that all of our holidays are child free

don't forget 'and then bought a cottage in Devon'

I forgot to add jobs, we bothe work in Business Management.

Am i not normal then? My holiday spend is 0. With childcare and living expenses my income has 0 leeway.

And she has a second home, that costs five grand a year to run, probably in addition to equity in the property from a deposit.

Many people can't afford one house, let alone two and would never be able to afford prep school even when eating beans on toast.

Cross post squoosh

BrieAndChilli

Was this school summer hols?!

a weeks car hire in France for £220!

a night in Paris for 5 people £140!

EasyJet return for France for five people £400!

This thread is a horrible insight into how the other half live. Feeling rather enraged

I’m enraged that you’re enraged. As a child, my parents couldn’t afford to take us on holiday most of the time and we never went abroad. I was absolutely determined that my children would have a very different life...and they do. That life wasn’t given to me. It has involved very hard work and huge personal sacrifice. When they go to bed shortly, I will be logging back on to computer to start work for the long week ahead and I won’t be signing off until midnight. Back up at six for the school run so I can get to work on time. If you want fancy holidays, go out and get them.

forgotMyusernameAgain

Not sure about the word “normal”, but certainly uncommon to never go on holiday. Not even in night away camping on the uk.

Blinkyblink, to be fair I just checked out a Eurocamp holiday (I couldn't work out how a PP had spent £3500 on a holiday I thought of as relatively budget, it seemed heavy) and you can do a week in the south of France in Eurocamp (Le Ruisseau campsite, for those interested) for £1,328, and flights for 5 are £84 each in the week 18th-25th August, London - Biarritz. So you definitely can get flights to France for under £400 for five people in the summer.

And also - there's a holiday for 5 there in the summer holidays for less than £2,000 which really isn't terrible, considering.

Are you including spending money in the calculations?

Those nightly rates are just the advertised rate, there are always deals. Whilst (pre children) we have stayed in some lovely places, always minimum of 4 star often 5 and even had our own butler on one occasion we haven’t paid anything like that.

We have three small children now, two of which are school age. We tend to book villa’s for hot holidays and chalets for ski holidays as it works better with children than hotels (they go to bed quite early). We ski for a week in the February half term, then again for @10 days over Easter. We then have just over two weeks in a hot climate as our summer holiday .

I think we spend @£10 - 15k pa

We stay in luxury accommodation on a self catering basis and eat out. Just use various tricks to keep the price reasonable!

Last year we took the kids to Lapland for a long weekend to meet Santa, that was really expensive but was a one off!

I would add, we do have a good income but also a huge mortgage!

I daren't say without a NC as it's ridiculous. It was brought on by one of my best friends dying at 44.

We go to Florida every other year, this year's has cost just short of 6k when we add our new addition on (so 2 adults and 1 infant), plus spending money. We also pay a set amount a month for our caravan in the Peak District, so that's our 'in-between' holidays and probably 3 weekends a month as it's only an hour and half drive from home.

We did also manage a trip to Rome at the beginning of this year but that's out of the ordinary and was a surprise from DH for Xmas.

The holidays to Florida will have to reduce though if we decide to send DD to an independent school definitely be caravan only then!

Most we have paid for a holiday was 11k that was for DH birthday a few years ago we did 2 weeks in Thailand and two weeks in a water villa in the Maldives .it was lovely but the Maldives I found it boring and not somewhere I would return to unless it was a really good price

But we normally do two 3 week holidays that are long haul and then I go and vist a friend who lives abroad as well

Op, thats what we typically spend on holidays. We earn our money legally, pay all our taxes and arent fiddling the system so i read the judging posts and don't take it personally.

I was sitting here thinking I’d never pay more than £150 for a hotel, but actually we’re doing Disney this summer and paying about £340 a night, but that is onsite and is pretty much all inclusive. We’re not super high earners but fortunate/unfortunate enough to have inherited some money. Normally we do a week in a sc villa in France and a long weekend in a caravan park, probably £2-3k budget. When the kids were little and childcare expensive we camped in the UK.

I couldn't RTFT - what most of you seem to spend on a week holiday would feed my children for a year .

The only holidays I've been able to afford for the past decade is a £69 weekend break in a caravan park, and then only every two years.